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Let's End "Witchhunt" Persecution in Uganda

Of course, there are no such things as witches or witchcraft. However, "Witchhunts" are regularly conducted by self-anointed Christian Evangelical "Healers" for their own gain and fame throughout Africa, with tragic and often fatal results for the victims who are usually the most vulnerable in the community.

TIME TO BRING AN END TO BLASPHEMY LAWS!

By going to the ICABL websiteyou can find news on victims of Blasphemy laws from all around the world, including an interactive map with detailed information on the countries’ blasphemy laws and consequences.

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According to Reuters, Russian lawmakers have introduced to parliament a draft bill to support Islamic finance, aiming to attract capital inflows at a time when an economic slowdown is intensifying and Western sanctions show no sign of being lifted.

The draft law, sent to parliament's lower house, the State Duma, this week, proposes allowing banks to engage in trade activities, a concept central to many of the structures used in sharia-compliant financial products.

'It is necessary for every person who stands for progress to criticise every tenet of old beliefs,' wrote the 23-years-old revolutionary.

Bhagat Singh (born September 1907) was convicted and subsequently hanged on March 23, 1931 for his participation in the John Saunders murder case. On his death anniversary, we revisit the essay he is supposed to have written between October 5-6, 1930, in response to a prison inmate who tried to convince him of the existence of God, and upon failing, berated him, "You are giddy with fame and have developed an ego that is standing like a black curtain between you and God." Bhagat Singh was 23 years old.

It is a matter of debate whether my lack of belief in the existence of an omnipresent, omniscient God is due to my arrogant pride and vanity. It never occurred to me that sometime in the future I would be involved in polemics of this kind. As a result of some discussions with my friends, (if my claim to friendship is not uncalled for) I have realised that after having known me for a little time only, some of them have reached a kind of hasty conclusion about me that my atheism is my foolishness and that it is the outcome of my vanity. Even then it is a serious problem. I do not boast of being above these human follies. I am, after all, a human being and nothing more. And no one can claim to be more than that.

According to DW, Turkey is officially a secular state, but 99 percent of the population is Muslim. Now the country's small atheist community is voicing alarm about what it says are increasing levels of intolerance and ignorance towards it, fueled by the country’s pro-Islamist government. Last year atheists launched their own society – now they are facing growing threats and legal problems reports Dorian Jones.

According to Radio Free Europe, a Pakistani court has upheld the death sentence for the killer of a politician who sought blasphemy law reform, but dropped a terrorism conviction, making it unlikely he will be executed soon.

The Islamabad High Court dismissed an appeal against the death sentence by Mumtaz Qadri, a former bodyguard who fatally shot Punjab governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad in January 2011.

Qadri admitted shooting Taseer, saying he objected to the politician's calls to reform Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, which can carry the death penalty.

According to AlterNet, with fire-breathing religion figuring anew in global conflicts, and political discussions at home often dominated by the nuttery of the Christian right, you might get the sense that somebody’s god is ready to mug you around every street corner. But if you’re the type who doesn’t like to hang your hat on organized religion, here’s a bit of good news: in America, your numbers are growing.

There are more religiously unaffiliated people in the U.S. today than ever before. Starting in the 1980s, a variety of polls using different methodologies have come to the same conclusion: people who do not identify with religious labels are on the rise, perhaps even doubling in that time frame.

Some call them “nones”: agnostics, atheists, deists, secular humanists, general humanists, and people who just don’t care to identify with any religious group. It’s not exactly correct to call them nonbelievers, because some still have faith and spirituality in some sense or another. A 2012 Pew study noted that 30 percent of these people believe in "God or universal spirit" and around 20 percent even pray every day. But according to the latest research, Americans checking the “none of the above” box will make up an increasingly important force in the country. Other groups, like born-again evangelicals, have grown more percentage-wise, but the nones have them beat in absolute numbers.

Please, be very careful with the meaning of the word “communautés” on either side of the Atlantic. There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding on this issue in the media.

In France, the word « communautés » always refers to « religious communities », notably the French people of North-African origin – indeed, they are French citizens! The meaning of the word « community » in the USA is quite different. In addition, « black communities » in the USA are quite different from the many Muslim communities in France. To add confusion, the French Prime Minister has recently used the word « apartheid » concerning deprived neighborhoods during a press conference (!!!) and Fox-News has recently aired a report on « no-go areas » in Paris, which is absolutely stupid and confusing.

In France, Free Thought is not an atheist organization – even if a large number of our membership does not believe in the existence of a transcendent entity. We are a social and philosophical association advocating complete freedom of conscience and free inquiry (therefore we reject imposed dogmas and beliefs). We are one of the oldest associations in France (the first Free Thinkers groups date back to the 1840s);Free Thinkers were the initiators and main promoters of the Separation Law of 1905 in France; and some of our more prominent figures were people such as Victor Hugo (who was a deist) and Ferdinand Buisson (who was a liberal protestant). We do not require our members to declare whether or not they believe in a transcendent entity. This is a private matter. One can join Free Thought by making a commitment to respect the association’s statutes, which includesthe commitment to notforce themselves, others or their children to engage in or perform any religious ceremony. We clearly understand that this issue may be different on the other side of the Atlantic. But we have always agreed notably with Atheist Allianceon the issue of complete separation of religion and state.

According to Newsweek, an Israeli politician and academic have called for an investigation to be launched into the comments of Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman after he called for the “beheading” of Arab-Israelis who were not loyal to the state of Israel.

Arab-Israeli politician Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Arab Movement for Change (Ta’al) party, said that Lieberman is the “Jewish Islamic State” after the country’s top diplomat issued his inflammatory remarks at an election rally in the western city of Herzliya on Sunday.

In a speech to Arab students at Jenin University in the West Bank city of the same name, Tibi said that the united Arab Joint List (a coalition of Arab-Israeli parties) would “remove racists’ and fascists’ heads only through democratic means - bringing as many [Knesset] seats as possible and active participation in the election. The stronger we are, the weaker Jewish IS will be.”

It took less than a year for a Turkish court to block the website of the country’s first official atheism association.

According to News.AZ, the Atheism Association, the first of its kind in any Muslim-majority country, was officially founded in Istanbul’s Asian-side neighborhood of Kadıköy in April 2014, Hurriyet Daily reports. However, the Gölbaşı 2nd Civil Court of Peace in Ankara has finally moved to block the association’s website, according to the group’s statement on March 3, 2015.

As of March 4, Turkish internet users could not access www.ateizmdernegi.org without using tools to bypass blockings, such as a VPN.

The court ruling cites Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Law, which forbids “provoking the people for hate and enmity or degrading them.”

We are proud to announce that our president, Christine M. Shellska, has given a speech at the UN's Commission for Social Development. Prepared and researched by Rustam Singh, the speech brilliantly and succinctly details AAI's vision and goals for the future. The text of the speech, as well as a link to the video of Ms. Shellska presenting the speech, is provided below.

Transcript of AAI’s oral statement presented at the Commission for Social Development, Fifty-third Session, 9th meeting, UN Headquarters, New York (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)

Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to speak, and to the committee for your commendable work and your commitment to sustainable social development.

Atheist Alliance International’s vision is of a secular world, where public policy, scientific inquiry and education are not influenced by religious beliefs, but based upon sound reasoning, rationality and evidence.

Suez Canal University President personally filed legal case against student Sherif Gaber, who claims he was tortured in custody

According to Daily News Egypt, A student from Ismailia was given a one year prison sentence by a court Monday for contempt of religion relating to activities on campus and atheist statements online.

Sherif Gaber, 22, was studying at Suez Canal University in 2013, when teaching staff and fellow students reported him via a petition to the institution’s President. They said he had made posts supporting atheism on Facebook, and suspected him of being behind a page called ‘The Atheists’.

Subsequently, the university’s then-president Mohamed A. Mohamedein personally filed a legal complaint against the student to the local prosecution on the grounds of contempt of religion. Monday’s verdict on the case allows Gaber to avoid the prison sentence on a bail of EGP 1,000. However, a retrial that could increase the sentence to over two years is due to take place in the coming weeks.